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Revere Through the Years

With the manpower of the Revere Police Dept. at an historic low, three new officers were administered the oath of their office by Mayor Thomas Ambrosino before heading off to the Police Academy. The trio are Jon-Richard Gibson, Renee Busheme, and Michael Mullen.

The Circus Smirkus international youth circus will arrive in Revere from July 19-21.

The annual Veterans Barbecue in honor of July 4 was held last week.

A 46 year old Lynn man was attacked, stabbed, and robbed by two young males while waiting for a friend in the parking lot behind the Squire Rd. Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Three juvenile females were arrested after a brief chase in a stolen car behind the Supermarket Exito on Shirley Ave. early in the morning of July 8. The trio allegedly were trying to break into the store when the alarm sounded and they tried to get away in their stolen vehicle.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, and Garfield are playing at the Revere Showcase Cinemas.

30 years ago

July 11, 1984

Rose Associates of New York has withdrawn as one of the developers of the 630-unit Revere Beach project, leaving only Carabetta Enterprises of Meriden, CT, as the one developer for both rental and condo units. Rose originally was going to construct the rental complexes, but the company cited high interest rates as the reason it did not want to take part in the project. The prime rate has risen from 11 to 13 percent in recent months.

The sixth annual Row, Row, Row to Revere event is set for Saturday. The race, which features canoeists paddling from Nahant to Revere Beach, benefits spin bifida research and has raised $170,000 in the past five years.

Six firefighters were injured in a fire last week in the abandoned Barrows School building. The school was to have been conveyed to Mercurio Properties, which was the high budder for the property at a recent auction conducted by the city. Some 57 firefighters and 16 engines respond to the inferno, which started on the third floor.

For the first time in the city’s history, tax bills based on 100 percent valuation, as required by a recent State Supreme Judicial Court ruling, were sent out this week. The tax rate is $17.55 for residential property and $31.91 for commercial real estate.

Top Secret, Ghostbusters, and The Muppets Take Manhattan are playing at the Revere Showcase Cinemas.

40 years ago

July 10, 1974

Steve Lowe, project director for the Revere Neighborhood Services office under the auspices of CAPIC, said this week that there are many Revere residents who qualify for food stamps, but who are unaware that they are eligible.

The School Committee filled 29 positions in the School Dept. last week. Among the appointees are Fred Sanella, who also is a member of the city’s Election Commission, as the assistant principal at the Whelan School, and Ernest Tentindo, who also is Ward 6 City Councllor, as a graphic arts offset printer.

Colonial Cablevision has announced that all local programming, including city government meetings, has been eliminated indefinitely until the company is able to extricate itself from its poor financial condition. The company has been rebuffed by Mayor William G. Reinstein in its request to raise basic cable rates from $5.00 to $6.50.

Marie Ferrante, a 13 year old student at the McKinley School, has been chosen the winner of the contest sponsored by the Revere Journal for the design of the insignia for the City of Revere Bicentennial Commission Medal.

For the third straight year, the number of Revere High grads who will be furthering their education has declined, with just 43.9 percent of the class of 1974 intending to attend higher education at some level. This compares to 46.3 percent in 1973 and 49.2 percent in 1972.

Edward Cataldo is the new Commander and Mrs. Rita McEvoy the new Auxiliary Pres. of Joseph Leon Mottola Post No. 4524, VFW.

50 years ago

July 9, 1964

The City Council defeated by a 5-2 vote a motion by council members Ray Carey and George Colella that would require the city manager to notify all property owners of increases in their property assessments so that those owners will have time to prepare to pay higher tax bills. The Board of Assessors has announced that though the tax rate will remain the same, assessments will be increasing substantially Most of the increases are on commercial property, with the assessment of Suffolk Downs increasing by $2 million.

The city celebrated a safe and sane Fourth of July, at which 5000 people attended a rain-delayed fireworks display and entertainment show at Paul Revere Stadium and some 15,000 youngsters took part in races and contests in the city’s 18 parks and playgrounds.

The City Council voted to set up a meeting with the city manager and School Committee to discuss the construction of a new Revere High School, as well as the reconstruction of the fire-damaged Lincoln School and an addition to the Whelan School.

The City Council has taken the first step in the process of amending the city’s by-laws to prove for another deputy chief position in the Fire Dept. and another lieutenant post in the Police Department.

The St. Anthony’s CYO Band has returned home with a first place medal in a recent competition held in Middleboro.

Ernest Tentindo was installed as the new President of the Revere PTA Council at the group’s 11th annual banquet held at Caruso’s Diplomat.

Jerry Lewis stars in The Patsy at the Revere Theatre.

60 years ago

July 15, 1954

State Commissioner of Public Works John A. Volpe, responding to a question from the City Council, said that the final route for the new Northeast Expressway that will cut through Revere from the Mystic River Bridge to roadways north has not been determined.

The Boston & Maine Railroad has informed the City Council that it intends to discontinue the Revere station stop.

City Manager Edward P. O’Toole expressed his dissatisfaction with the city’s Fourth of July fireworks display and said the city will put on another fireworks show later this summer. Heavy rains the day before apparently dampened the fireworks.

A 38 year old Bradstreet Ave. man drowned at the Pleasant Park Yacht Club in Winthrop Saturday as he was trying to secure a friend’s boat at the dock. The victim fell into the water and never surfaced. The tragedy occurred in front of his wife and five daughters, ages 1 through 13.

Thomas Croce, 60, a pioneer in aviation who founded the Revere airport and co-founded Logan Airport, passed away this week. Croce was known as a “gypsy pilot” who operated his own mail service between Boston and New York before air mail officially was approved.

Richard Widmark stars in Hell and High Water at the Revere Drive In. Joan Crawford stars in Johnny Guitar at the Revere Theatre.

70 years ago

July 13, 1944

The toll of the hero war dead from Revere was increased by three this week with announcement by the War Dept. that three local boys made the supreme sacrifice. The D-Day invasion claimed the life of Cpl. Raymond Lepore, 26, son of Peter Lepore of 624 Broadway. Cpl. Lepore was killed on the day of the invasion on June 6. Seaman 1st Class John Edwards Parsons, 20, son of Claude Parsons of 1005 Winthrop Ave., also was killed in action during the invasion. He was a 1941 graduate of Revere High where he was prominent in football and other sports. News of his death shocked his many friends and family members, one of the best known in Beachmont. Second Lieut. John A. Sciaraffa, 31, husband of Gertrude Sciaraffa and son of Mary Sciaraffa, was killed in action on June 11. He was a member of a tank division and was among the first to land in France before meeting his death five days later.

Only about 20 percent of Revere voters turned out for the first-ever mid-summer primary election in Massachusetts history. Revere’s incumbent state representatives, Republican Peter J. Jordan and Democrat William H.J. Rowan, both won the Democratic and Republican primary balloting, thus assuring both of election in November. Revere Democrats favored Boston Mayor Maurice Tobin for governor over challenger Francis X. Hurley. In the contest for this district’s Congressional seat, Mayor Raymond Carey topped the Republican balloting in Revere, but lost district-wide to Winthrop’s Ernest Bentley by a slim 190-vote margin. On the Democratic side, incumbent Thomas J. Lane was unopposed.